Category: Outdoor Living Chicagoland

With cooler weather on the horizon, you may be wondering if enjoying your outdoor space this upcoming season is even possible. Wouldn’t it be great if you could still soak in the beautiful sunsets and fresh air, despite the upcoming chilly, Chicagoland temperatures? Adding a room, such as a sunroom or screened in porch is a great way to make the most out of outdoor living as it cools down and can be built with features to make use of the space year round!

Screened in porches and sunrooms provide protection from outside elements such as rain, wind, and snow, while still allowing you to enjoy the outdoors. Below are a few of our favorite features that make it easier to use your space throughout the year.

Sunspace Retractable Windows

These attractive, light weight windows allow you to easily close up the room to protect against rain or snow or open them fully to allow a warm breeze in on sunny days; let in as little or as much of a breeze in as you please. Below are some of our favorite projects featuring Sunspace windows.

This rustic style screened in porch integrated cathedral ceilings and Vertical 4 Track Windows to maintain an open, airy feel. The windows let in plenty of light while allowing the homeowners to enjoy the space during chilly months.

This screened in porch features floor to ceiling Sunspace Vertical 4 Track windows which gives the room a very open, spacious feel. Adding a space heater can warm up the room even more to enjoy on colder days.

Outdoor Fireplaces

Integrating an outdoor fireplace into your screened in porch or sunroom is a great way to create warmth and ambiance throughout the colder seasons. Below are some of our favorite rooms with fireplaces.

This cedar screened in porch features an outdoor stone fireplace which creates warmth as well as encourages family to gather for entertaining.

This fireplace makes an eye catching focal point in this sunroom, which greatly compliments the space and makes it more usable throughout the year.

Studio 41 Glass Windows

The Studio 41 glass windows we use in our sunrooms truly make these spaces usable when the cold hits by keeping out more chilly air. Check out some of our favorite projects with these windows.

These Studio 41 windows ensure more cold air is kept out of your living space, while bringing in additional natural light to the area.

These windows open up the homeowner’s view to the rest of the yard, while allowing them to choose how much fresh air to let in.

If you’re considering adding a room to your outdoor living space, such as a screened in porch or sunroom, we’d love to hear from you. Call us at 847-496-4333 or sign up for your Free Design Consultation.

With summer nearing its’ final days, you might be anxiously awaiting fall football games, gorgeous golden trees, and the crisp, chilly air. With all of these wonderful seasonal perks to look forward to, you may be wondering if you can even still enjoy your backyard as pool and BBQ season come to an end. The good news is, the falling leaves and mild weather make fall the PERFECT time to enjoy the outdoors. You may be curious as to how you can warm up as the weather cools down. Adding a patio with fire pit or a screened porch with a fireplace makes enjoying the outdoors a must do this autumn.

Building a patio with a fire pit or screened porch with fireplace creates style, ambiance, and warmth for your space. Imagine gathering the family around the fire pit on your paver patio while roasting marshmallows, or enjoying a cup of coffee next to your fireplace in your screened porch on a chilly fall day. Additionally, a fireplace in your room or fire pit on your patio creates a great focal point for your project’s design. Below are a few of our favorite patio with fire pit and room with fireplace combinations.

This Belgard paver patio features a gas built in fire pit with blue glass. This is a great feature if you don’t want to worry about smoke, fumes, or clean up from a wood burning fire pit.

This Belgard paver patio features a square wood burning fire pit, which is a great focal point on the project and complements the circular shape of the Mega Arbel pavers.

This gas fireplace with above TV makes the perfect place to watch the game and entertain family and friends.

This screened porch features a built in gas fire place with stone surround. This cozy room is an ideal retreat in the fall or winter to curl up with a book and cup of coffee.

If you’re ready to create your dream outdoor living space to enjoy this fall, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at 847-496-4333 or sign up here for a Free Design Consultation.

With only a brief amount of time left to enjoy summer, you may be thinking about how you can still enjoy the outdoors as we approach the end of the warm season. Have you ever considered a combined project, such as a screened porch or sunroom with a deck or patio? Joining an outdoor area with an enclosed space offers many benefits during the transition of seasons and allows you to enjoy your space throughout the year!

Having a combination project is especially be beneficial when changing from late summer to early fall. Having a deck or paver patio can be useful during warmer afternoons for grilling or dining, while a sunroom or screened porch can be beneficial on chilly fall evenings or cool mornings to curl up with a warm cup of tea. How do you know if a combined space is something your backyard needs?

One of the first questions our design consultants ask our clients is “how do you plan to use the space?” This answer will always differ from person to person. Many times we find out our clients want to use their space for multiple activities. For instance some clients want one area for grilling and a separate, enclosed area for seating and gathering family and friends. Sometimes our clients want a large outdoor area for entertaining along with a smaller, covered space for lounging and relaxing. Others simply want an uncovered area to enjoy warm, sunny days, as well as a cozy enclosed space to enjoy on chilly or rainy days. Sound like something you may need? Having separate spaces for different activities increases the function of your design and expands your living space for multiple uses.

Below are some examples of our room projects in combination with other spaces such as decks or patios.

This combined screened porch and Belgard paver patio creates plenty of room for the home owners to enjoy grilling on sunny afternoons as well as an enclosed area for shade or bug protection.

This outdoor living space creates the best of both worlds; a spacious Timber Tech low maintenance deck and Belgard paver patio to appreciate the outdoors as well as a screened porch to bring the outdoors in! The spacious deck with patio is ideal for large parties and family gatherings, while the screened porch makes for a cozy indoor retreat to enjoy as the weather cools down.

This wood deck with screened porch defines different areas for different activities. The deck can be used for grilling and lounging in the sun, while the screened porch is ideal for staying dry and warm and for protection of outdoor elements, such as rain and snow.

If you’re looking for a combined outdoor living space to enjoy year round, we’d love to hear from you. Sign up for your Free Design Consultation or call us at 847-496-4333.

Enter to win your outdoor oasis with Archadeck’s “Fire up your backyard” patio with fire pit giveaway! Enter to win a 14′ diameter Belgard paver patio with wood burning fire pit. Finally get the perfect space to roast marshmallows and gather with your loved ones. Enter to win at http://wgnradio.com/2017/07/10/archadeck-of-chicagoland-fires-up-your-backyard/ now through July 30th and for official rules.

Are you thinking about a patio in your backyard for your ultimate stay-cation? Have your been dreaming about a place to enjoy your glass of wine while watching the sun set? An Archadeck patio makes a great outdoor space to enjoy for dining, entertaining, and relaxing. When researching patio projects, you may come across different options as far as design and materials. How will you know which options are right for you? The following four factors are important considerations when planning your patio project.

Space and Function

Understanding how you plan to use your space will help determine how much space you will need for your patio project. Are you planning to use your patio for dining or entertaining large groups? Or are you in need of a small, intimate area to lounge while reading or sunbathing? What you plan to do while using the space will determine how large of a design you will need.

Backyard Layout

How your backyard is currently laid out and what is currently in your backyard will affect your patio design. Would a raised patio with a retaining wall be beneficial to your sloped backyard? Do you have an existing sunroom or deck that you want to have integrated with your new patio? Assessing your backyard’s layout and what’s currently there will help when planning your new space.

Aesthetics

Do you like the feeling of separation from the rest of your yard with structures such as seat walls? Do you get excited about trendy curved, smooth shaped patios? Or do you prefer eye catching symmetrical lines and crisp corners that square and rectangular patios offer? Looking at our numerous patio designs is a great place to start when gathering ideas and getting inspiration while planning your project.

Materials and Investment

When searching online for patio ideas, you may come across material options such as concrete or pavers. How do you know which material choice is right for you? At Archadeck, we use pavers for all of our patio designs for the simple reason that concrete cracks. With Chicagoland’s extreme hot and cold temperatures, cracks in concrete are inevitable. With this in mind, expensive repairs are unavoidable for concrete patios. At Archadeck we want to ensure you have a high quality patio that lasts for many years. A paver patio will have an upfront higher initial investment, however, will cost less in the long term with repair costs in comparison to concrete patios.

If you are considering adding a patio or outdoor living space to your backyard, we’d love to hear from you. Call us at 847-496-4333 or sign up for our Free Design Consultation.

Have you thought about adding an enclosure such as a screened in porch to your backyard, but are looking for a more cost effective alternative? Adding a pergola with mosquito curtains is a creative and affordable way to create an enclosed space for enjoying bug protection.

Pergolas by themselves provide shade on brighter days. These structures are made up of four posts with cross rafters. The further apart the rafters are, the more sun that will come through.

Mosquito curtains are made of a sheer netting fabric which is used to protect against mosquitoes and other bugs. This material can be attached to pergola structures on tracks, which can be opened or closed depending on the weather. Mosquito curtains not only provide the functional need of insect protection, but they also add a decorative touch as well as privacy to the outdoor living space.

Combining the structure of a pergola along with the mosquito curtain feature creates a great cost effective alternative to an enclosure, like a screened in porch. By placing the mosquito curtains on top of the pergola as well as surrounding, a bug free enclosure is possible.

If you are considering adding a pergola or enclosure to your outdoor living space, we’d love to hear from you. Give us a call at 847-496-4333 or sign up here for a Free Design Consultation.

Are you ready to turn your backyard into the ultimate summer stay-cation? Summer is just around the corner which means it’s the perfect time to turn your space into a relaxing retreat. One way to do this is with a poolside deck or outdoor living space. The following are important considerations when planning your pool and deck/outdoor living project.

How do you plan to use the space?

Function is a very important factor to consider when planning for your new space. Will you just need space for a couple chairs and a place for towels? Or do you want enough space for a grill and table for dining? How you plan to use the space will go hand in hand with how much space you need and how to best plan for your project.

Is your pool above ground or built in?

If your pool is above ground, do you want a wrap-around deck, or a deck on just one side of the pool? We can install decks that are on one side of the pool or that wrap around. Function wise, a wrap-around deck may not leave you with much space for seating or grilling, as much of the space is used for walking around the deck. Having a pool deck that’s built on one side of the pool gives more room for purposes such as lounging, grilling, or dining.

If your pool is built in, remember decks aren’t the only outdoor living space to consider. Paver patios are a great way to compliment your pool. Paver patio designs can create aesthetically pleasing landscaping to your space. When building a patio, we always suggest pavers over concrete, since they are easier to maintain and require fewer repairs.

Do you already have an existing pool and living space installed?

Not every project needs to start from scratch. Many of our clients build in stages; do you just want a project to compliment what’s already in your yard? Adding a deck coming off the house to an existing built in pool area or pergola for shade creates an extra place for gathering with family and friends and makes a great area to watch the kids play in the pool.

Cost

There are many variables that go into the cost of a poolside deck or outdoor living project. The materials used, for instance, if you use wood or low maintenance/composite decking, as well as the size of the space will be important factors that determine the project cost. If you have an above ground pool and are considering a wrap-around deck, or adding a deck to a circular pool, it will cost significantly more than a deck on only one side of the pool.

If you are considering adding a deck or outdoor living space to your pool area, we would love to hear from you! Contact us for a Free Design Consultation or call us at 847-496-4333.

When radio personality, Roe Conn, was looking at his old, chipped deck out back, he decided he wanted something better; a sanctuary worthy of enjoying his fresh cup of coffee in the morning or glass of wine at sunset. What did Roe do when he realized his current deck wouldn’t cut it? He called Archadeck!

Roe knew he could trust our owners and outdoor living experts David and Kristen Berryhill, and the Archadeck of Chicagoland team with his project. Our senior carpenter, Paul Taylor, and production manager, Anthony Amodeo, worked hard to build this simple but beautiful deck. The old, worn out deck was replaced with a brand new Timber Tech low maintenance/composite deck.

Our owner, David Berryhill suggested to make the simple deck more interesting by designing the deck as a “picture frame” by having a border going around the edges of the deck with a parting board in the center. This is a very unique design detail and creates separation even within a smaller space. The brown oak and gray deck boards create a stunning contrast and gives the space a modern appearance.

We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Roe; he has been an absolute pleasure to work with. The best part is, he loves his new deck and has been happy throughout the process. Like many of our clients, Roe is building his project in stages; stay tuned to see the new paver patio we’ll be building for him later this spring!

If you’re ready for your “before” to turn into “after” for your backyard space, we’d love to hear from you. Sign up for your free design consultation or call us at 847-496-4333.

Spring has officially sprung which means it’s the perfect time to consider a deck addition to your outdoor space. With many customers who contact us about future deck projects, a common question we get is what to expect budget wise when thinking about a wood or low maintenance/composite deck? The following points are necessary considerations to help you determine which is the best fit for you.

The Difference

It’s important to understand the difference between a wood or low maintenance/composite deck first, before you can know which is the better investment option for your budget. Our wood decks are made using pressure treated pine decking. We use Timber Tech or AZEK brand products for our low maintenance/composite decking; which is made from either cap stock (composite core with PVC skin), or full PVC boards. Click here for more details on this type of decking.

Maintenance

Wood deck boards can fade, splinter, expand, or shrink over time. However, these effects can be dramatically minimized if maintained properly, which includes staining and pressure washing every 2-3 years. Low maintenance/composite decking on the other hand will not experience this same wear and tear, but it may scratch. However, there are low maintenance/composite deck options that are stain or scratch resistant. Low maintenance decking also does not need to be stained or painted.

Budget

If considering a low maintenance deck, plan to budget about 70-100% more than a wood deck. It may sound expensive, however if you plan to be in your home for several years, it may be the better investment. With this in mind, you would not need to worry about the cost of hiring someone to wash, stain, or sand your deck. These maintenance costs would end up recouping the cost of a low maintenance/composite deck in about fifteen to twenty years; if you plan to be in your home for many years, it may be the better investment long term. If you only plan to be in your home for a couple of years, a wood deck may be the better option.

If you are considering adding an outdoor living space to your home, such as a wood or low maintenance/composite deck, we would love to hear from you. You can sign up for a free design consultation or call us at 847-496-4333.

For the sixth year in a row the Angie’s List Super Service Award is awarded to Archadeck of Chicagoland for consistently high levels of customer service.

Archadeck of Chicagoland has earned the service industry’s coveted Angie’s List Super Service Award, reflecting an exemplary year of service provided to members of the local services marketplace and consumer review site in 2016.

Angie’s List Super Service Award 2016 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade, and review period grade; the company must be in good standing with Angie’s List, pass a background check and abide by Angie’s List operational guidelines.

Service company ratings are updated daily on Angie’s List. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in areas ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality.

At Archadeck of Chicagoland, we strive to provide excellent service and craftsmanship to keep our clients happy. If you are considering an outdoor living project and value great client service, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at 847-496-4333 or download our Free Design Guide.